Before I say anything, don't get me wrong here, Mashaa'Allah I wish this couple the very best for their new life and I completely agree that it takes a lot of courage to go to your wedding without any makeup. So hats off for that. However a few words about breaking stereotypes.

When you see a person with a white coat and a stethoscope what do you think of? A doctor. What if that person wore a black coat and a wig. He wouldn't be a doctor anymore, he would be a barrister or a judge. And this kind of "stereotypical" ideas about dressing in a particular way has nothing to do with society. It's about self identification. And I tell you they dress this way with so much pride.

At a graduation ceremony, thousands of students dress in a black robe and black hat. You think they're all dressed up the same because they need to follow some social standard. Not at all. Their robe is symbolic of their hard work and accomplishments. And they wear that black robe with so much pride. In the same way a bride's outfit and jewellery is symbolic of her special day.

At an English wedding ceremony, the bride wears a white dress, often their mother's or grandmother's. And that "stereotypical" white dress has nothing to do with society. She doesn't wear it because society has forced a singular image of a bride on her. She wears it due to tradition and culture. Maybe she wears an expensive one or a cheap one, or a borrowed one, it doesn't matter.

Asian brides are well known for their colorful lehengas and their jewellery. Nowadays, we wear colors from black to white. We wear gold, silver, diamond jewellery, you name it, we've seen it. I completely agree with the whole point that girls should have the freedom to wear what they want, have the independence etc (all these words which 21st Century feminists love throwing around). But seriously, I have never met a girl who wasn't excited to dress up for their wedding. A bride doesn't dress to feel confident or to be accepted. Most of the time girls are so excited to feel bridal because this is the only time they'll get to wear clothes and jewellery like this. Don't blame society for everything, no one is telling us to listen to aunties gossiping and deciding "right tahole ami biye e korbo na." winter wedding dresses

And yes, there are those girls who don't believe in tradition and culture. They will say, "tradition er naam e manush ekhon eta eta kore." But seriously, I feel that this post is trying to over generalise the feelings of a minority of the generation. And plus people nowadays praise anything that is different from the norm so I'm not surprised by the publicity it's received. Weddings are about family, future, love and happiness. We only include society out of choice or if we have been brought up as highly class conscious individuals. I personally agree that wearing tons of makeup is too extreme but doing the complete opposite is also very extreme.

A wedding is a once in a lifetime occasion and girls spend years planning their wedding. Girls parents start planning the day their daughter is born. A few weeks ago, another bride tried on her wedding lehenga for the first time and instantly her parents eyes filled with tears at how beautiful she was looking. Or maybe the mother and father became emotional because, thank god, the lehenga was expensive enough to show off to their guests?

I highly doubt.